The national team was recently invited to Portugal for Nelo's "Meeting of Champions". They got a tour of the Nelo factory including the new version of the C1 Vanquish 3 - Thomas Hall Edition. Pretty exciting! I don't want to poach his photos though so take a look at his FB album or click his name above for his blog.

As I stepped off the train from the TFC game last night, there was a message from my sister that my dad had been taken to the hospital. The nursing home had sent him, only indicating he was feverish and unresponsive. What does that mean when it's someone who can't talk or even sit up?? My dad is living out a '50s horror movie where you have all your senses but can't talk or move.
I headed straight to Grace Hospital at Birchmount & Finch not knowing what to expect. The last time he was taken in, they told us to assemble the family (the non-catholic's equivalent of last rites). This time, I couldn't get ahold of Laurel but her voice on the message had been unrecognizable even with the call display. I hoped she hadn't called Ryan who was attending a friend's funeral in New Brunswick because it would be an unnecessary upset.
Scarborough Grace's emergency room was much less busy than Centenary and North York's (his last two ambulance destinations) and they knew exactly who I was there for when I approached the desk. I was actually surprised at his condition. I had prepared myself for the worst. Don't get me wrong, it was bad; he was bloated, jaundiced, heart rate over 125 but steady, feverish, blisters on his mouth and tongue, oozing ulcers on his shin and one leg was strangely floppy and limp. However, it was nothing near as bad as the last time.
My sister had called Ryan because she has a terrible throat infection and had hoped he could meet the ambulance at Grace. When he sent a text explaining where he was, she had responded that he shouldn't worry. I texted him with an update as soon as I left the hospital.
Just a couple of days ago when a friend had inquired how he was doing, I had commented that trips to the nursing home weren't so much visits as they were making sure they weren't killing him in one of a million ways... I said that I was feeling more human now that I wasn't going to the nursing home every day. Immersed in the decay, neglect and death. Now I'm back on the treadmill. I realized it this morning as I grabbed an extra large coffee and sesame bagel with cheese for breakfast...the same thing I grabbed for dinner last night as I rushed out from the train station. The drive starts out relaxed enough but not knowing what to expect, what's occured in the hours since I left him, etc. I become so stressed in the drive and I become such an a-hole, aggressive driver, it's surprising I haven't been pulled over. I convince myself that my dad will be dead before I can get to the hospital. Of course he's not. He's still in the ICU but the nurse I spoke to doesn't know if it's because of his condition or they just don't have the room for him. When I explained that they had talked about doing chest and hip x-rays she decided that must be why.

When I got back to PC, I decided I needed a paddle asap. Rachel E. was doing the learn to paddle program. I told her not to worry about me and to lock up when she left but she said not to worry - Dray was coming down to do it later. I went out and had a great 90 minute paddle. I felt much better as I pulled my boat out of the water. Unfortunately, a couple of C U Next TuesdayS (masters women, you know who the queen bees are) were just returning their boats from the chicken bowl in Welland and jumped on me immediately; why was the club open, why was there stuff everywhere, Dray should have been there precisely at 1:00pm to lock up... I was listening to my iPod and made the mistake of removing my ear buds when I saw their lips moving. I thought they were just saying hello. Anyway, I did my best to explain that everything was under control, Dray was probably detained somewhere, nobody died because the club was unlocked and unattended for 45 minutes and changed the subject by asking Tamlyn (who was there with them) how the worlds were. It was a relief when they left and the clucking stopped. I've never known any paddlers to stress the way self-important masters do - too bad they have to spread it around instead of keeping it to themselves. I was grateful to see Tamas P. there unloading boats as I left. He, of course, was normal and asked how my paddle was, no he didn't need help with the trailer and not to worry, he'd lock up.
Now I'm sitting at home with a cold glass of Santa Margherita pinot, a good book and listening to Remy Shand - I'll be fine.

Network outage this morning means we’re unable to do anything.

I was checking results of the marathon worlds yesterday and noticed their logo for the event is suspiciously similar to that of Canoe-Kayak Canada. Check it out. They barely changed it from the original.

Tamlyn came 9th in the women’s K1, Rory was 1st in masters womens B, and they paired up to come 9th in the women’s K2, Duke was 11th.

The waves this week have been great. After years of struggling for every micron of improvement in C1 because of balance issues, the quick gains I’m making in OC1 are gratifying. This week has given me the perfect opportunity to work on speed. The tendon injury in my right arm still nags though so even though I want to stay out longer, I’m coming in while it’s still bearable. I’d rather have a shorter paddle than have to miss a day or two altogether. However, I was out for two hours last night so it’s not like I’m missing out.
I was hoping to race in the fall event at Frenchman’s Bay but they scheduled it for the same weekend as thanksgiving. I’ll be in Muskoka. I’ll still paddle – I’m really looking forward to paddling in a new environment.

The latest Fat Boy Slim single...Toe Jam...Love it!

THE BPA - TOE JAM FEAT. DAVID BYRNE & DIZZEE RASCAL

Ryan just called to tell me that a university friend of his was struck by a car and killed this past Sunday. The accident happened in Alberta but Brad's family is in Ontario and New Brunswick so Ryan doesn't know yet where the funeral will be.
This is one of those mom moments where you hurt for your kid and there's nothing you can do except offer them a ride to the aiport. Brad is the first friend of their group to die so it's a bit of a shock. He and Ryan were pretty close friends and they last spoke a couple of weeks ago. I feel so bad for him but can't provide much comfort because I barely knew Brad. He and another friend of Ryan's stayed with me for a couple of days on their way to treeplanting in B.C.. All I remember is that he was the shorter and more polite of the two blond-haired boys and I told the bartender in the Crooked Cue that all three were my sons because they were only serving people over 21 (some dumb phase they went through). I hope Ryan will be able to go to the funeral - it's much easier to make sense of a young death when you're with friends.

Coincidence. On the same weekend that Kodak announces it will no longer be producing their legendary film, Kodachrome, I go out and buy a digital camera. Finally. My old Canon bit it during the Knockout so it's a relief to have a new box.

On Saturday I went to visit my dad and then ran a bunch of errands (which included the camera purchase). The guys were planning this downwinder and we had tentatively discussed meeting at the club around 4. By 2 pm it looked like the wind, which wasn't strong to begin with, was dying. Feeling antsy about getting out there, I headed to the club around 3:30. Missed it by that much. I took my time getting my stuff together. Seriously, looking at conditions, I was pretty sure the guys had bailed. Still, I hung around until 4. Carrie and Attila were driving by so I chatted with them for a bit before heading down to get my boat out. They told me to drop by after my paddle since the Sarges were coming over for dinner. I pushed off the dock at 4:04 and was kicking myself afterwards for not waiting a few more minutes. The wind and waves weren't anything special but decent - I did 14km - 7km of work + a 7km conveyor belt ride back from buoy off the pier at Petro Canada. When I got home around 6:30, there was an email from Doug, sent at 3:32, saying they'd be down at the club around 4-4:15. I just missed the email, just missed the ride to Oakville. Oh well, it's not like I would have been paddling with them but a change of scenery would have been nice.

I dropped by Carrie and Attila's afterward. Sarge and Marie were there. Wow, they are both in amazing shape from all the running they've been doing. We don't have much of a chance to see each other - Hamilton's pretty far and they're so busy between the dogs, teaching and running - so this was great. I mean, I see Sarge at regattas but you know how that goes, he's so busy with coaching. Anyway, they really scored on the baby stuff! Carrie had all kinds of things for the upcoming pregnancy/birth. Marie doesn't look pregnant yet but will soon, I'm sure. Like all of us at that stage, she's excited to get a little belly showing.

On Sunday, I picked Marisha up at Starbucks after rowing practice and we headed out to St. Jacobs for some shopping. We hit the Outlet mall and the farmers market and the main strip...it was a full day. I only bought a few things, some sea salt, chili sauce, avocado slicer, silicone basting brush. I almost bought a cashmere coat for $800 but they didn't have my size. I should qualify that, there was an 8 there but I could see a spot where someone had spilled and then wiped something off. On the black cashmere it was so obvious, it wasn't even worth haggling on the price. Too bad or lucky, I can't decide which. It was a beautiful Mark Aurel coat though.

Also, I didn't know Home Hardware sells furniture. Yep, there are about 4 Home Hardware stores in the St. Jacobs area and one of them is a giant furniture store. Mostly the same old-same old but there was one item, a semanier made of reclaimed wood that was quite a nice piece. Unfortunately, there was one spot where the dovetailing didn't quite meet. Probably just as well since both Marisha and I were interested in it.

We stopped for a beer from a local micro-brewery (F&M?) on the restaurant patio mid-town, checked out a few more stores and then headed back to the city. Oh, I almost forgot. On our way up there, I bought a shoulder bag at this place that was basically a head shop on the side of Hwy 85. It was called Grasshopper Imports and they sold Djembes (drum), indo-shirts, bags, didgeridoos, jewellery, candles etc. Plus they had WALLS of various sticker designs and I spent quite a bit of time looking for something to stick on my scorpion paddle before I realized 85% of them were Grateful Dead stickers... moving on. It was dark as I was getting home, too late to go for a paddle and I was tired and hungry so I rented Tarsem's The Fall and had popcorn for dinner. Such a beautiful film. For some reason I couldn't get to sleep (probalby the whole popcorn for dinner thing) and I ended up watching Friends reruns until 3 in the morning. All the more reason for me to go to bed now.

This outrigger thing is such an addiction. I can't wait to get out on the water every day. And the beauty of it is, there's no such thing as bad conditions. Okay, too many days in a row of flat might be bad or lightning for days on end like we had earlier in the summer but right now? With all the tropical storms finding their way north? It's all good.

The sucky thing is I strained my bicep tendon on Tuesday. This is the same thing that gives me so much trouble with heavy weights. Right arm fails because the tendon slips out of the notch and drags across my shoulder. Really painful and aches right down to my wrist. I ran into Karen as I was leaving the club that night and she recommended Traumeel. I've never heard of this topical anti-inflammatory before but she told me I could get it at Hoopers so I went over and picked some up. Pretty incredible result. The effect is like rubbing aspirin into an injury in the sense of pain relief! Over the years I've had people give me tiger baum, flex, A535, etc. With each, I didn't notice any improvement or relief and some were just damn smelly.

Anyway, I took Wednesday off and ran instead but Thursday, with 1 metre waves, I couldn't stay on shore. I probably should have though. Tonight was more of the same - the waves weren't huge but they gave a great run. In fact, I had the best ride I've had this entire season in terms of speed and reading the water right. I went out with Liz who always gives me a good push.

My Garmin's battery died just as I lef the dock. That'll teach me to keep it charged since this was one run for which I would've loved to have feedback. I was staying on top of the bumps for some good speed but specifically caught two really good waves that pushed me well ahead with no effort. I'd like to say it was skill that put me on them but it was just dumb luck. Anyway, I'll take it! As I said to Liz later, I did the opposite of everything I usually do.

Doug invited me to come along for the down-winder the guys are planning from Burloak tomorrow afternoon and as much as my arm is aching, I really want to test for myself. We'll see how the wind shapes up. This wouldn't be the first time we had a forecast of good conditions that blew themselves out overnight.

A couple of things that are bugging me...bunions. What the hell? I don't have a bone affliction that twists any other joints or bones in my body. Is evolution trying to tell us that it made a mistake and opposable big toes were better? I was even more convinced of this when I read up a bit on the evolutionary changes to ankles and feet that are unique to hominids. Oh no! My ankles pronate. Will my anticedents be more ape-ish? Actually, now that I think about it supination is probalby more apish. Never mind.

The biggest thing that bugs me about bunions, besides how they look, is that I'm no longer comfortable running. I used to be able to run forever without any discomfort. Now...not so much. Bah. Now I wish I'd done more running when I was younger.

Ummm, oh yeah, another thing that's bugging me. Hairbands (headbands). There are lots of women my age who can pull off headbands. They look sophisticated, sleek and chic. Me? Think Charlotte's mother-in-law Bunny. I wear them for training but I also wear spandex tights. All is forgivable if it's done in the name of fitness....sort of. Anyway, my hair is an awkward length right now and I wish I could wear a headband to work. It's driving me CRAZY, hanging in my face. WHY?? Why can't have a normal-shaped head that lets me wear headbands?? Or any type of headgear, for that matter. I don't suit hats either. Okay, fitted caps are fine, but only with a pony tail. I am afflicted.

and speaking of afflicted...

...what is up with Canadian celebrities who move to the States and make it big? Are they suddenly afflicted with alopecia?















All I can say is, Ryan Reynolds had better take care of his scalp and try not to get stressed out. huh, not so difficult to find an excuse to post a photo of a hot guy.

Life is good. Expensive but good.

A lot of people are complaining about the price of gas which jumped from $1.22/litre to about $1.37 overnight on thursday. The reason given is the landfall of hurricane Ike (or Gustav, who can keep track) in the Texas oilfields. Not sure why that should affect us but for a $12/tank increase, I can't really get too upset (plus I had already filled up at the lower price). People who don't understand that owning a car is a L U X U R Y need to have their heads slapped.

Having said that, I had the luxury of paying $2000 to have my Pathfinder fixed last week. Front brakes done and split resonators replaced. The brakes conveniently started grinding the day

before I took it in for the weird noise that started just after the March trip to Florida. The mechanic showed me on the hoist - both resonators were split at the seam and exhaust was pouring out of both. After I got the car back, I thought it didn't start when I turned the key, it was that quiet! The mechanic says I'll be saving money on gas now becasue of it so it all works out in the end. And considering I haven't really spent a cent on that car since I bought it in 2002, except to put on new tires, I couldn't be too upset about this repair bill.

Another potential luxury expense is a new camera - digital, of course. I actually went to buy one a couple of weeks ago but after putting the package together, the sales guy went into the back and discovered they were sold out of the body I wanted - Canon 40D. I decided to hold off since it was such a big expense at one time but when I pulled out my old SLR this past weekend to take photos at the Knockout, I discovered that the film loading mechanism is shot. The worst part is it's all automated so there's no way to override and load it manually. I was finally able to get some of the rolls loaded by pushing them around the spool multiple times but it meant I only got about 13-15 shots per roll. Plus I missed some of the action because it was impossible to do a quick load between rolls. Anyway, hopefully I'll get those rolls into a Blacks soon. I think I'm going to need to lay out the cash for the new one.

The knockout was a lot of fun. I almost didn't go because the original forecast was for rain/thunder storms all day. In the end it was just overcast. Everyone who isn't away at university was there! More importantly, it was the ideal opportunity to see all those paddler babies that have appeared in the past year or two...I wish I'd taken a shot of them all together.

Sign of time passing: one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright ,died today.

My son Ryan is 29 today!

I'm well past the days when his birthdays would bring me up short thinking, "How can I possibly have a son who is blank years old?" but I still can't get my head around the idea that it's been 29 years since the day he was born. My memory of every moment from the time my water broke is so clear that it really does feel like a recent event.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, the question is more, "Was I ever that young?" I feel like I've been one age for a long time. My 20s were like that. I wasn't 25 or 28, I was 20-ish for 9 years. The 30s were definitely not like that! Talk about a cat on a hot tin roof. Every birthday set off a voice in my head saying move!... faster!...NOW!" like I could dodge the age bullets with some fancy zig-zaggy maneuvers! My 30s were all about ducking and weaving. My 40s have been pretty amazing though - the best decade so far. And I've heard a number of women say they think that about their 50s so...fingers crossed!

Anyway, this is about Ryan's birthday...since I was taking him out for dinner, he met me at my place. We had some time before our reservations which we spent scanning on-line florist sites. A girl he's dating is directing a play at Markham theatre and he's sending her opening night flowers. Have I mentioned that I love my kid? What a great guy. He found a beautiful bouquet of white asiatic lilies but boy, if you don't want roses, there's not a lot of creativity in on-line flower arrangements.

A guy at work had mentioned a new restaurant in PC called Il Pescatore so we decided to skip our regular (Spoon & Fork) and give it a try. My sister Laurel, her husband Randall and daughter Tara were joining us (my older neice, Melissa, is at Queens and couldn't be here).

The menu is pretty impressive, the food was very, very good and creatively displayed. They have a respectable wine list and the atmosphere is comfortable and intimate (read small). The only complaint might be that the service was incredibly slow but it didn't matter. It was so great seeing my sister's family.

They're usually at the cottage
or travelling so we don't get together a lot. In fact, Randall had just come back from Russia via Denver. He and Ryan were comparing their Blackberrys (?? I don't understand men, I mean I get it but I don't get it) and he was showing us how on his emails from Russia, the subject line RE: translates and displays as HA: so in a conversation thread, the subject line eventually becomes HAHAHAHAHA.

Tara fractured her jaw in three places earlier in the summer so she didn't do much other than picking up some extra credit for school. She's usually pretty active - water skiing, sailing, wakeboarding, tubing - so this was a tough one for her. She had her boyfriend up a few times though and has a lots of friends in the vicinity of Lake Joseph so she said it wasn't too bad. We're planning to go up for Thanksgiving so I'll take my OC-1 for her to try. Got an injury and can't do high-impact sports? Take up paddling.

Laurel and I did a little planning for our trip to Winnipeg for my cousin Debbie's wedding. Planning mostly involved what spa packages we're going to get at Stones. It was a really fun party and we called it a night shortly before 11. Happy birthday Ry - hope it's a great year!

WHAT??? is with the gun play in Toronto?

A guy was shot dead yesterday, today the 401 at Keele came to a screeching halt when a man jumped out of a moving car and was shot dead in front of motorists. They've already arrested two people implicated in the shooting but this is so (seemingly) random. As it turns out, when I googled this item I learned that there have actually been 4 shootings here in the past 24 hours. Also, that there are several theories about what happened to the 401 body;

• The victim was shot on the highway and dumped on the roadway
• the victim was shot somewhere else and dumped on the highway
• the victim was dodging gunshots when he jumped out of the car and was hit by another vehicle, dying on the highway or
• the man was shot at the scene but was only wounded, jumping out to avoid further injuries, when he was hit by a car.

What a great weekend!
All day Friday it was tough to be at work because it was so windy and obviously an amazing day to be out on the lake (obvious because people kept sending emails or posting Fb status to that effect.). Anyway, I had an appointment with Greg to look at my house plans. Wow, Greg REALLY knows what he's doing =- not that I'm surprised but he might actually be a little psychic since he suggested a couple of things I was afraid to because they sounded crazy even to me.
I finally got on the water around 6:30 but by then it was completely flat - no wind. I still put in a little time and then cleaned up to meet Laura and everyone at Snug for her going away party.
So fun - Jessie, Steph, Phil and Lauren were there. She's so tiny! (and I'm talking about Steph!!) Lauren is just a few weeks old so she's tiny too. I was reminded how much I miss seeing them all on a regular basis but so glad we're still able to get together every once in awhile. I'll have to get a photo from someone else because I forgot my camera that night. Also there were Laura's other friends from LPHS - Alana+Mark, Ashley+Ryan.
After dinner we headed to the Cue where we hooked up with Dustin+Kyle, Bliss+Jaime, Chris+Jessie, Johnny+Emily. (the + indicates boyfriend+girlfriend). We also saw a ton of other people who didn't know about Laura's going away - Karen+Mike Edwards, Orsh, Jayme Moorecroft and Dustin's mom and sister. Lots of fun and lots of catching up to do with everyone.
Besides the going away party, it was the Southside Shuffle in PC so there were great blues bands playing inside and outside of the Cue.
The plan all along was to end up at P.G. for a reprise of Laura's epic performance on amateur night. When everyone was gathering up their stuff, I decided to stay at the Cue and watch the band with one of the other guys. However, after another beer I had that rosy glow going and remembered that it might be a long time before I see them all again. I jumped in a cab and headed to PG. So this establishment is such a part of the mcc paddler culture that I don't think about it but everyone, from the cab driver to the doorman asked me if I was sure I wanted to go in. By the time I got there they were lining up the hooter shooters


I have a lot more to post, just no time to do it....I'll try to add more today

TIFF!
Jackie, Rebecca and I bought the three-pack for the Toronto Film Festival and our first film was last night. This is the package where they randomly select three films for you so it's a big surprise. I just love the whole thing; the crowds, seeing films I might not choose on my own or that won't make the big screen, the celebrities, the Q & A afterward. We have another one tomorrow night and the last on Monday. The festival is well established but I wonder if it will be affected by the one in Venice if they continue to happen at the same time. News reports say the organizers of both are "working together" but I find it hard to believe since it splits the celebrity base. Toronto gets Brad Pitt, Venice gets George Clooney...

The first one wasn't bad but did not bring us to our feet. It was still interesting. Rebecca had to go home and finish editing something for the magazine so Jackie and I picked up some korean and went back to her place. Blake came in from coaching db not long after and I packed in the idea of getting to the gym by 6:00am so that I could stay for awhile longer and visit.

Sidebar: I'm at work right now and I can see that there's a terrific storm whipping up (remnants of hurricane Gustav. I guess). It must be fantastic on the lake right now and I wish I was out there. I haven't been able to paddle for the past few days for one reason or another - all social - and won't be able to tonight since the fabulous Secko is coming over after work to take a look at my house and let me know if it can be fixed up a bit, then goodbye dinner for Laura, meet Steph's new baby etc. So it'll be tomorrow morning before I can get out there! It's going to be crazy. JR posted on fb that there are 2 metre waves.

This is the year of soccer-themed birthday gifts. I gave Carrie and Jackie tickets to the all-star game for their birthdays and, not very originally, gave Syd & Charlie TFC shirts - I couldn't resist. Seriously, are these a couple of soccer cuties or what??

I thought the listeria...uh...hysteria was falling off but no. I haven't mentioned this on my blog yet but people have been dying from listeriosis in Canada. I think it might be up to 11 by now. Initially it seemed limited to products from the Maple Leaf meat packing plant in Toronto but subsequently a mushroom farm and now a cheese company in Ontario have also issued recalls. The government says that this could have been much worse if not for the guidelines and precautions put in place during the SARS epidemic of a few years ago.

Sweet City Woman. I listen to CBC Radio 2 at work and they played this Stampeders song this morning. Wow, 1971. I started high school in '72 and my math teacher (who was probably about 21 but seemed really old) played Stampeders and Canned Heat during class. It was pretty great being a teenager during the '70's. They had lots of electives that involved basket weaving or whatever, you know what I mean. One of our teachers was even openly dating one of the grade 13 students! However, they weren't open-minded enough to let girls take woodshop. I remember a bunch of us who wanted OUT of home ec, launched a protest to let us take woodshop. We were shut down very effectively. So now I'm a dismal cook and useless at doing small repairs around the house.

You know how I've said that I can see who has visited my blog? Here's a snapshot of a detail page. I laughed when it came up. Sometimes people are directed to my blog through random searches. Since this is a Google search, it shows the search words this person used. It pulled up my blog because of two separate posts - one that refers to the K2 guys at a world cup and a separate post about a gay antique dealer on a tv show.